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About the Physical Therapy Program

LVC Receives Full Accreditation for Physical Therapy Program

Top-ranked program in the sciences.

You might not expect one of the nation's finest liberal arts colleges to be a leader in the sciences.

students Think again. Lebanon Valley College was rated number one in the North in the 'Great Schools, Great Prices' category among 'Best Baccalaureate Colleges' in U.S.News & World Report's 2008 edition of the book, America's Best Colleges. Also, for the fourteenth consecutive year, U.S.News & World Report has rated LVC among the top tier schools academically in its category (#8). LVC was again named one of the Best Northeastern Colleges by The Princeton Review in its 2006 and 2008 editions.

Over the years, we've been awarded more than $1 million in National Science Foundation grants and more than half of our graduates in the sciences have earned advanced degrees and Ph.D.s. Given our record and reputation in the sciences, you might think we'd be satisfied with past success. Instead, we have forged ahead to create a new Doctor of Physical Therapy Program - the only one of its kind in central Pennsylvania. Our first physical therapy class entered in the fall of 2000. In the years following, we fully intend for this new program to draw the same level of national acclaim as our existing academic programs.

Bright, hard-working students.

Ultimately, any academic program is only as good as its graduates.

At Lebanon Valley, we are seeking those students who have what it takes - talent, discipline, and perseverence to become leaders in the physical therapy profession. Already, over 30 percent of Lebanon Valley College students graduated from high school in the top 10 percent of their classes.

Students who enter the program should expect to be fully challenged.

The physical therapy curriculum is based on the American Physical Therapy Association's "A Normative Model of Physical Therapist Professional Education" and the "Guide to Physical Therapist Practice." The program follows the guidelines established by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE). In addition to pre-professional courses in biology, chemistry, physics, statistics, sociology, psychology, and English, there is a significant liberal arts component to the program. All students will gain substantial clinical experience at regional and national healthcare organizations. Graduates of the 6 year (3+3) program will receive a Bachelor of Health Science degree and a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree. LVC received full accreditation for the Physical Therapy Program in 2006 from CAPTE.

State-of-the-art facilities.

Already, Lebanon Valley offers the kind of well-equipped campus you would expect of a top college.

Our computer network connects scores of microcomputers via a sophisticated fiber optic system, allowing students to travel the Internet and tap into libraries and databases around the world. And few colleges offer students more exposure to a full array of high-tech equipment: a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer, gas chromatograph, mass spectrometer, atomic absorption spectrophotometer, and ultracentrifuge.

A new 35,000-square-foot building is home to the physical therapy program. Adjacent to the college's Arnold Sports Center, the structure house's state-of-the-art classrooms, teaching laboratories, a research center, a therapy pool, and a fitness/aerobic center. These complement the sports center facilities, which include a 25-meter indoor pool, three racquetball courts, a 200-meter indoor track, and four full-length basketball courts that can be converted for volleyball, tennis, and badminton.

The Heilman center

In the fall of 2000, our first physical therapy class entered Lebanon Valley College. If you'd like to be a part of the physical therapy program, get in touch. We're ready and available to answer your questions. Write to us - or use our toll-free number - and call 1-866-LVC-4ADM.